SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. — After distribution of surveillance video from James Market, where the owner was struck and killed by a fleeing SUV, Sedro-Woolley police were able to identify all involved parties. On Friday night, around 11:30 p.m., the driver, 19-year-old Matthew Tobin, was taken into custody.
Sedro-Woolley Sergeant Dan McIlraith said the police department ended up receiving 'a lot of information with the help of media presence,' which helped lead to the identification of the suspects.
A juvenile female passenger was the first to be contacted by police. She pointed police to the driver and identified everyone in the SUV. Driver Matthew Tobin subsequently confirmed the events as well.
Officers were called to the James Market on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. for a report of a beer theft. Police said the owner and her nephew chased the thief to an SUV, and as it fled, the nephew was struck and the owner was dragged.
The store owner later died. The incident was the second time the store owner chased a shoplifter and was struck by a car.
The theft suspect was described as a white man wearing an Oakland Raiders baseball cap and red shirt who got into the back seat of a light-colored four-door SUV with three others inside.
The driver was described as a white man in his mid-20s to 30s, wearing a gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt. The front passenger was a woman. The beer thief and another man were in the rear passenger seat.
Driver Matthew Tobin is in custody at Skagit County Jail in Mt. Vernon. The man seen stealing beer in the surveillance video and another male passenger have been identified, but have not been contacted. The police are still actively seeking these two men.
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